From Jamie Hurts. Email her at jamiehurst[AT]borderstan.com and follow her on twitterÂ @highheeldtravlr

I recently tweeted my fellow Washingtonians asking where I could replenish my magazine stock and find some inspiration. I received only one answer, â€śGo to The Newsroom on Connecticut.â€ť Iâ€™ve walked past the unassuming facade many times without noticing it and you donâ€™t see magazines filling up the windows. You have to go inside to find them.

Walk past the deli counter, convenience store, and tourist shop, all the way to the back where simple shelves are filled with some of the most well respected and entertaining publications in the world.

Dupont Circle is saturated with bookstores (three on the Circle itself), coffee shops (upwards of ten within a five minute walk from the metro), and plenty of places to grab a quick sandwich.

The Newsroom is north on Connecticut, just past all the hustle and bustle. They donâ€™t have a twitter or Facebook account, or even website. The shop isnâ€™t trendy but it does have a cult following â€“ panic and sadness ensued when they recently temporarily closed.

When I need a magazine fix â€“ foreign, domestic, and small publications – I now go here to make a haul. My last visit I came away with Italian Vogue, Wallpaper Magazine, Nylon, and the Economist. If you are an expat feeling homesick in Borderstan, or just curious about the goings-on in other parts of the world, this is your one stop shop â€“ you can even grab a cup of coffee, too.

You walk into a restaurant with a couple of friends. The hostess greets you by name, asks if you want your regular table.

Your friends are impressed. They want to know why youâ€™re getting the royal treatment.

â€śOh, I own this place,â€ť you say. â€śAnd it only cost me $50.â€ť

This is the kind of story Fundrise and its co-founder, Ben Miller, want to help make happen in DC and across the U.S.

Fundrise is crowdfunding for real estate. Through the site you can buy into a piece of property, and can potentially earn money back, over time, on that investment.

Ben and his brother, Daniel, started the site, part of Rise Companies, which has eight full-time employees and also owns the site Popularise, to give more people a chance at participating in real estate investment.

Ben also hopes Fundrise allows people to have a greater sense of ownership in their community.

â€śItâ€™s a tool for building communities,â€ť Ben said. â€śSo everyone can participate in investing in real estate and building their environment.â€ť

Through Fundrise you can buy units, or shares, of a real estate investment.

The first such investment was 1351 H Street, a limited liability corporation representing property on H Street NE, which will house a business operated by the people behind DURKL and Toki Underground. The business is expected to open in Spring 2013.

While you will reap financial rewards of owning a piece of property through Fundrise, Ben cautions in real estate a return on investment can take time.

â€śItâ€™s [Real estateâ€™s] the opposite of Wall Street,â€ť Ben said.

Along with another piece of someoneâ€™s investment portfolio, Ben sees Fundrise empowering people to greater participation in their communities.